


Welcome to the Building

by Shippershape



Series: Bellarke Brought to You by Tumblr [8]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Clarke has a dog and Bellamy's a sucker for both sets of puppy dog eyes, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 19:55:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2824181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shippershape/pseuds/Shippershape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy likes dogs, really he does. He likes them less when they wake him up every morning at the crack of dawn. He also likes blondes. When the apartment beneath his is suddenly inhabited by both, he finds himself in an awkward situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to the Building

Bellamy was awake. It was six o’clock in the morning, on a Saturday, and he was laying in bed staring at the ceiling. This was not how things should be. 

Another loud bark came from the apartment below him, and he groaned. The easygoing and elderly Mr. Whittaker that had been living beneath him had moved into a seniors home about two weeks ago, and the new tenant was quickly proving to be a pain in his ass. They’d never actually met, but whoever it was had a dog, and that dog had woken Bellamy up at the crack of, well, earlier than he’d like, ever since they’d moved in a week ago. 

At first he’d thought maybe it was just adjusting to the new place, he’d had a dog or two in his life and he knew how that worked. But considering he usually got home, and to bed, around one or two in the morning, this whole early morning wake up call wasn’t working for him. 

Groaning, he rolled out of bed, throwing on a t-shirt but not bothering to change out of his pajama pants. He’d never been big on pajamas, but it turned out he sleepwalks, and they became a matter of necessity. He shuffled toward the front door, shoving his feet into a pair of work boots, and made up his mind. It was time to welcome his new neighbor to the building. If part of him was only going down there to tell them to shut their fucking dog up, then so be it. 

He lived in a nice building, which was something he was proud of, even if he’d never say so. Rent was obscene in Vancouver, and he remembered living in a shitty studio with no windows for a year. Even that place had cost him about 1200 a month. Making his way down the stairs, he noticed the ashtray shoved in a corner. Clearly Bob, the security guard, had not enjoyed his time with the patch. Bellamy sighed and pushed through the stairwell door, yawning.

He walked up to the offending apartment, 6B, and knocked. Loudly.

The door swung open, and the face that greeted him was definitely not one he had expected. For some reason the dog had made him imagine some outdoorsy West Coast douchebag, complete with bicycle shorts and a neon blue windbreaker. Instead, a petite blonde woman stared up at him. 

The first thing he noticed were her eyes. They were this intriguing shade of blue-gray and were sporting bags to rival his own. The second thing he noticed, because he was a man and also because she was wearing a tank top that left basically nothing to the imagination, was her chest. Dragging his gaze back to her face, he mustered a frown.

"Hi." She said. He had been expecting a peppy, cheerleader kind of voice to match her tiny blonde exterior, but instead he got rasp, and a little sex. He wasn’t sure he like the way one word from her made the muscles in his stomach tense up.

"Uh, hi." He replied. Reminded himself why he came. "I live above you." 

Her face changed, from curiosity to guilt.

"Oh. Oh shit, look, I’m really sorry about the dog. He just hasn’t adjusted to the move well, and he misses my ex. I-" She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence though, because a furry blonde head poked through the door, beside her hip. Bellamy cocked his head, studying the source of all his problems of late. It was a golden lab, a ridiculously cute one, who was currently fighting desperately with it’s owner for the chance to come out and say hello. He crouched down.

"Hi." He greeted the dog. It mirrored him, cocking it’s head. Charmed, Bellamy reached out to pet it, then stopped, remembering the cardinal rule of petting someone else’s animal. He looked up at the woman.

"Oh." She looked surprised. Bellamy couldn’t really blame her considering he’d come down here to yell at her about the dog. "Go ahead." He smiled, giving the mutt a good rub, scratching it behind the ears, before standing up again.

"I’m Bellamy." He said, this time extending his hand to the human of the pair. She smiled tentatively, taking it.

"Clarke. And this is Archer." She nodded at the dog. Then sighed. "I really am sorry. I know we’ve made a nuisance of ourselves our first week here. Archer… I think he just misses my ex." She shrugged. Bellamy caught a glimpse of something in her eyes, he wasn’t quite sure what, that suggested it wasn’t a routine breakup. He didn’t ask, had to remind himself that this was a stranger. One he was supposed to be annoyed with. But she was looking up at him with those big blue eyes, and she looked exhausted, and he just couldn’t find it in himself to be angry with her. He told himself that the fact that she was ridiculously attractive had nothing to do with it, but he wasn’t entirely sure that was true. 

"What about you?" He asked. Then regretted it. Clarke blinked at him.

"What about me, what?"

"Do you miss your ex?" It was an incredibly inappropriate question, and he half expected her to slam the door in his face. Instead she just laughed.

"No. No, I really don’t." He could see that she meant it, but there was still something there, something that for some reason made him want to hunt down her ex boyfriend and throw him in a dumpster. He recognized the feeling of protectiveness with surprise, it was one usually reserved for his sister.

"Look, I’ll uh, I’ll cut you a break on the dog thing." Bellamy said, suddenly feeling stupid standing there in his pajamas and work boots. What had he expected to happen? That he could just come down here and yell at his new neighbor and they would magically be in better control of their dog? It might be six in the morning, but it was clearly not a well thought out plan. Clarke grimaced.

"I think he’s getting better. I’ve been trying to walk him again at night when I get home, usually that helps, but I get up so early." She sighed. "I’ll figure it out. He needs to get out more, I walk him at least once a day, but it’s really not enough. I keep saying once I have my gallery all settled in I’ll have more free time, but-" She trailed off, looking suddenly ashamed. "He deserves better." It was the most either of them had said at once. Slightly hypnotized by her voice, Bellamy ran through what she’d said in his head. She owned a gallery, which was not uncommon in Vancouver, but it meant she was doing pretty well. He already had figured that considering how much their building cost. She was also having some serious pet owner guilt over not being up late enough to take her dog out.

In a lot of cities walking your dog at night was a death wish, and there were parts of town here that would probably be dangerous, but their area was great for that. Bellamy was one of the only people in their building who didn’t have a dog. He’d wanted one, but figured his weird schedule wouldn’t work around it. He frowned, thoughtful.

"I could take him." He offered suddenly, surprising both Clarke and himself. She stared.

"What?"

"I could walk Archer, at night." He shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. 

"You don’t even know me." Clarke said, still staring. Bellamy sighed.

"Look, first of all, sure I do. Your name is Clarke, you own a gallery, I’m guessing the new one that’s going in on South Granville. You’ve got a dog named Archer, who you used to share with an ex that I’m guessing either cheated on you or treated you badly, maybe both. You like Nirvana," He gestured to her tank top. "And you feel bad that your schedule is conflicting with your time with Archer. I know enough. Plus, we’re neighbors now." He finished, smiling.

Clarke looked a little uncomfortable, probably at the way he had just laid out her vulnerabilities like they were obvious, but he waited. She frowned at him again, this time considering. 

"You want to walk my dog?" She finally asked.

"I want to get a good night’s sleep." Bellamy countered. "But I like Archer. And I don’t mind you. So, sure. I want to walk your dog." 

"I-okay." She agreed. He was actually a little surprised she’d given in so easily. Clearly she needed the help. "Thank you. I mean, once I’ve got my work sorted out I can do it. But thanks." She offered him a smile, one that lit up her whole face, and he felt it like a shot of whiskey, warming him from the inside out. He smiled back, couldn’t help it.

"Maybe when you’ve got a little more free time, we can walk him together." Bellamy suggested. Clarke’s smile widened.

"Sure." Satisfied, Bellamy gave Archer one last past, then turned to leave. Remembering something, he turned around.

"Hey." He shouted at her, from half way down the hall. She looked over at him. "Welcome to the building."


End file.
